BCS shaken up; BYU vs TCU

TWO UPSETS STIR UP BCS POT

Well, now the BCS is actually looking interesting now. Two losses by Oklahoma and Wisconsin really puts things in perspective. One thing I do not understand is how Oklahoma only dropped six places in the rankings while Wisconsin dropped nine. Oklahoma lost to Texas Tech who was an unranked team in the BCS last Saturday. Another factor is that Tech beat the Sooners at home. That snapped a 39 home game winning streak by the Sooners.

Wisconsin lost on a last second Hail Mary pass from Kirk Cousins to Keith Nichol that was originally ruled not a touchdown only to be overturned by the replay official. I am sure that the official took long hard looks at that play knowing how his decision would affect the outcome. It puts a damper on the Badgers' goal of a perfect season along with the BCS championship game. But one-loss teams have made it to the game before so hope is not lost.

Frankly, the Sooners should be out of the Top 10. They lost to a non-ranked team at home. That should not happen to a championship caliber team. Wisconsin lost on its first real road game of the year. AND they lost to a BCS ranked team. So they should not have fallen as far. It looks like a bit of doctoring in the polls where pollsters just can't accept the Sooners losing, so they keep them close to the top when it's actually Wisconsin who should still be ranked in the Top 10. A last minute Hail Mary pass should not drop the Badgers below the Sooners, who lost at home to a then unranked team.

The more interesting part of the BCS standings is the top 4 of LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma State, and Boise State. LSU has the blessing of a week off before playing at Alabama on November 5th. But they also have #10 ranked Arkansas the last week of the season. Other than LSU, Alabama has a much softer schedule ending with the Iron Bowl against cross-state rival Auburn who does not deserve their #23 ranking in the BCS with 3 losses.

Oklahoma State has three big games coming up--Baylor, Kansas State, and Texas Tech. I am not worried too much about the Bears because they have a very porous defense. They allowed 55 points to Texas A&M in their last game. Though they have a week off, I don't think they can outscore the Cowboys who are #2 in scoring offense at 48.6 points a game. Kansas State is 7-0. They face Oklahoma this weekend at home and the Cowboys the following week on the road. That is a brutal schedule. However, the Wildcats have beaten Miami(FL) and Texas Tech on the road, not to mention beating two other high-powered offenses in Baylor and Missouri. They and the Cowboys are at the top of the Big 12 with 4-0 records. The Wildcats will give the Sooners all they can handle this Saturday. They question will be if they have enough to beat Oklahoma State on the road.

Last, but not the least by any measure, are the Boise State Broncos. They still have to beat TCU at home. But TCU has had no trouble winning on the road at Air Force and San Diego State. They need to keep on winning. They play the up and coming BYU Cougars, who have not lost since being trounced by Utah in week 3. The Horned Frog defense has not been as formidable this year as in years passed, but they can still score with the likes of the Cougars.

Here's where Boise State can sneak into #2 in the rankings. There will be a loser with LSU-Alabama. Oklahoma State has the potential to lose at least one of their games. Boise State with its non-AQ status must beat TCU well so they will rise to #2 behind the #1 team if the Cowboys lose one. It is not that far of a stretch.

BYU'S FUTURE

Brigham Young has won 5 consecutive games. But four of those five have been at home. The wins against UCF and Utah State came down to the last minutes of the fourth quarter. Their only road win has been Oregon State, a winner of only one game this year. The last team to beat them, Utah(3-4, 0-4), has lost 3 of 4, winning only at Pittsburgh. The last game the Cougars played against a quality opponent was against Texas, a game which they lost in the last few minutes.

TCU has played but two quality opponents-Texas A&M and Southern Methodist. Both of those are losses giving up a combined 90 points. This looks like an even game between these two schools. It will definitely be a toughly fought encounter between these two schools who have become rivals.

In the six years that TCU played BYU in conference play, the Cougars are 2-4, averaging just under 21 ppg. However, their last three encounters have proven devastating, losing 32-7, 38-7, and 31-3. The last time the Cougars beat the Horned Frogs was 2007, where they won 27-22.